Hi guys, pretty new here. I have a really rough idea for a new power that could probably use some tuning (I haven't tried it yet), but I thought I'd throw it out there to see if anyone likes the concept. If it totally sucks feel free to let me know that too . (If it seems needlessly complex, that's probably because I thought of it ten minutes ago+I'm drunk+it's 3:26am).

Power:Infected(4)
When one of your race tokens would normally be returned to the tray, instead place it in decline next to your coin pile.
When your race goes into decline, or your last region is conquered, you may immediately (even if it's out of turn) redeploy
all of the in-decline tokens you've accumulated. Your race has become the living dead. You may now attempt to conquer regions as you normally would. If this is triggered by losing your last region, you must begin your undead conquest in that region. Take 1 VP for every region conquered this way. When you choose to stop (or can no longer conquer) go into standard decline.

The races and powers written like this have been tested and found to be balanced.

These are the ones that I prefer.Races (33) :

Aegipans (4) : you get an additional victory point for every region you were controlling before attacking. For this, you place one VP in each region you still occupy when you take your tokens in hand, before conquest (the contrary of Gypsies).

Banshees (4, max 18) : each time someone conquers one of your regions, you earn a Banshee token rather than loosing one. But careful, it won't happen if one of your Banshees is changed into a Sorcerer...

Grim Reapers (4) : during any turn of conquest, get one VP for every n losses (n is the number of players except you ; it counts even for Lost Tribes and races in decline), whoever it is (even you) and whoever provoked them.

Scarecrows (4) : you can conquer, from each field you occupy or conquer, one region with one single token.

Will-o'the-wisps (4) : all the regions adjacent to yours that, at the end of your turn, contain a Lost Tribe or a race in decline, is worth one bonus VP.

Angels (5) : while redeploying, you can place up to one Angel per player, in one adjacent enemy region. You score one point for these regions and when it's the concerned player's turn, he/she can neither move the tokens from within to attack, nor redeploy tokens in it, nor use it for adjacent conquests and nobody can conquer it.

Robots (5, 15 max) : you get the Plant token. At the end of your first turn, put it in one of your regions ; it can no longer be moved but makes this region immune. At the beginning of your next turn, you get one Robot token for every pair of Robots you redeployed in this region.

Gorgons (5) : each time you conquer a non-empty region, you get a Statue token that increases your defense by one (you can't lose it, you dispatch them as you wish and they stay in decline). A Gorgon with at least one statue is considered to be alone. They have to be accompanied by at least one Gorgon in each region. They can be redepoyed one last time when going into decline.

Korrigans (5) : if a player didn't attack you this turn, he gets one victory point for every two regions of his/hers that are adjacent to the Korrigans. Otherwise, each of his/her regions adjacent to theirs aren't worth anything.

Minotaurs (5) : the Cave regions are worth one bonus VP.

Vampires (5, max 18) : at the beginning of your turn, you can convert all lonely in-decline tokens bordering each Swamp you occupy (but not abandon) into one Vampire, taken from the tray.

Cyclopes (6) : nobody can conquer an empty region that is adjacent to one of yours (works for Water regions as well).

Draugar (6) : each time you lose a region, instead of discarding one Draugr, redeploy it with the others, but on the in-decline face. Those can only be used for defense, never for attack. There can be as many in-decline Draugar in a region as you want but they must always be accompanied with at least an active Draugr. When you decline, in addition of each Draugr you leave per region you were owning before declining, redeploy all the extra in-decline Draugar got while active.

Duergars (6) : once per turn, you can explode a mountain you occupy for three VPs, but the defense token is lost and it is put back in the region if someone conquers it.

ETs (6) : at the end of your turn, you can choose a race among the six not chosen yet and put it back under the pile of combos, and reveal a new one. You get all the possible VPs that were on this combination. It doesn't have to be necessarily a combo with VPs on it, you can use this power on a strong combo that you might see as a threat.

Harpies (6) : every two regions you conquer, the cost of any next attack is reduced by one, but just for this turn.

Imps (6) : once per opponent's turn, when he/she succesfully takes one of your regions, you can take the Imp tokens from it and use them to immediatly conquer another region adjacent to the ones you still hold (if you don't have any, you can't use this power) using the reinforcement die, and possible bonus attack (like Commando, Pillaging or Flying). If the die toss is succesful, you immediatly invade this region with the same rules as usual (the player that might be occupying it lose a token), but if the die fails you lose an Imp and redeploy the possible other(s) at the opponent's end of turn.

Mermaids (6) : you score one bonus VP for each coastal region occupied by an active enemy that is adjacent to at least one of your coastal regions from the same shore. You can score VPs from immune active regions as well. On the other hand, Diplomat Mermaids can pick a player they score VPs from as their friend.

Ogresses (6) : you can conquer Swamps and Forests with one less token than necessary.

Cryothropes (6) : you can conquer a Mountain with two less tokens than necessary. At least one Yeti is still required.

Sphinxes (6) : the player that wants to invade one of your regions tosses the die. If he/she gets a blank side, he/she cannot invade it and he/she has to leave one of his/her tokens in there, which can no longer be used for attack this turn. The tokens lost this way are given back at the end of the current player's turn for redeployment. If the side is not blank, the region can be invaded normally. For a last conquest, the die has to be thrown twice, once for the power to be applied or not, one for the conquest to succeed or not. Barbarians wasted this way cannot be redeployed and have to be taken off the board.

Succubi (6) : when it's your turn, toss the die for every player that attacked you. You can conquer as many regions from this player as the result, as though they were empty.

Centauresses (7) : each time you lose a Centauress, put it on their tile. You can conquer a region with two less tokens than necessary by putting a tile back in the box.

Knockers (7) : if a player kicks you out of a Mine region, you don't lose a Knocker and the player loses a victory point to your benefit.

Witches (7) : between each enemy conquest, you can move one Witch token to an adjacent region, but the region from which you do that has to contain at least two tokens. For the tokens you get back when you lose a region, you can redeploy them all immediatly. You can also do that before a last conquest with the die, before the region is chosen.

Lutins (9) : your Lutins cannot conquer regions with two or more active tokens in it. So Monsters don't count (for Small World Underground).

Magicians (9) : during redeployment, you have to abandon a region.

Nymphs (10) : instead of keeping your tokens from regions you lost and redeploying them at the end of the enemy's turn, you keep them on the edge of the board. They can neither be redeployed, nor used for your next turn of attack.

Lilliputians (11) : all your regions cost one less token to attack.

Smurfs (11) : the only regions that grant you a VP are Forests and Hills.

Powers (44) :

Cartographer (3) : at the end of your turn, get one bonus Victory Point for every kind of region you hold.

Golden (3) : at the beginning of each of your turns, take two one-VP tokens from the tray. You can attack regions with one VP per region like they were race tokens (but they're not considered as race tokens, see the Pixies detail below), and work for defense as well, but you cannot redeploy them and they cannot be used alone neither for attack nor for defense, nor can they be left out of the board (for Amazons and Pixies. Hence, for Pixies, the VPs don't count as race tokens and can be - have to - be redeployed for defense). Each region with a VP an enemy conquers means he/she gets this VP, adding this to the regular race token loss you suffer ; at your next turn, you can choose either to use the remaining VPs to attack, or immediatly and permanently turn some or all of them, into bonuses. When you go into decline, all remaining VPs are yours. There is no limit for the "attacking VPs" you can hold in the current turn - that means if nobody attacks your Golden regions, for the fourth turn as active your Golden race can attack like it got a fearful 9 special power...

Antiquarian (3) : each region of the Relentless race in decline is worth one additionnal victory point. Of course, for the Priestesses the Ivory Tower is worth double.

Necromancier (3) : each time you abandon a region with a Lost Tribe pictogramm in it, place a Lost Tribe token there. At the end of your turn, you score one bonus victory point for every region adjacent to yours that contains a Lost Tribe token.

Pyrotechnist (3) : At the end of each of your turns, get one Firework token (max 3) per Mine you occupy. You can place them each in one of the Magic Sources you occupy, making them immune. At the beginning of your next turn, before any attack, players have to give you one VP for each of their regions they occupy with their active race that are adjacent to a Firework. Then permanently discard each of them, attack, and possibly get them back if you hold Mines again. (Yeah, for those who know the Lord of the Rings, this is a reference to Gandalf ^^)

Telepathic (3) : once per turn and per player, you can take all the tokens of an active race from a region adjacent to yours and dispatch them in the neighbouring regions (including Barbarians ; the Pixie is redeployed as well as it is not at the Pixies player's end of turn). You earn one VP per token dispatched this way, and of course you can conquer the emptied region.

Voodoo (3) : each region you occupy where there is a Lost Tribe pictogram gives you one bonus victory point.

Wonder (3) : you get a Wonder token. At the end of your first turn, place it on the region of your choice, making it impregnable and immune. From now on, and while you're active, this region and the ones that are adjacent to it are worth one bonus victory point for EVERYBODY. When you go into decline, turn the Wonder token upside down. It stays on the board for the rest of the game but from that moment only works as a Mountain that grants a bonus VP, even for a race in decline.

Confined (4) : take three victory points from the common stash. You can place them on borders, at one per border. Those regions can from now on only be conquered by crossing this border and spending one extra token (then the VP is earned by the conqueror), for lack of which the VP is yours at your next turn. They cannot be placed on the border of an immune region, on the edge of the board and between two regions of yours.

Levitating (4 , only for Small World Underground) : you can conquer Chasms like normal regions. That ability applies even in decline. Adjacency for Spiderines still applies only for regions adjacent to a Chasm, not the Chasms themselves.

Lonely (4) : collect one extra victory point for every isolated region (not sharing any border with any of your other ones) you occupy.

Messenger (4) : you can choose to not use one of your tokens for attack for three extra victory points. It can be redeployed, except for the Barbarians and Pixies.

Monomaniac(4, inspired by Kryzen) : you earn three extra Victory Points at the end of your turn if, and only if, you hold at most two different kinds of regions.

Nomad (4) : you can abandon up to two regions at the end of your turn and gain one extra VP for each abandonned region, before scoring (and placing Pots of Gold for Leprechauns).

Odyssean (4) : immediatly earn one victory point for every new kind of region you conquer compared to the kinds of the ones you were holding just before this turn.

Resourceful (4) : you can toss the die twice for your last conquest, attack with the sum of the results, and get the number of points you didn't need in VPs. A Gambling race can use its gambling power only for the first die tossing.

Slippery (4) : when a player attacks you, you can make this player slip towards an adjacent region (except the region the player attacks from), provided that it is equally or less defended than your region attacked in the first place, and make him/her attack in this region instead. That means someone else can endure the attack that was meant to strike you ; the attacking player can even slip and accidentally attack him/herself ! Sphinxes attacking themselves have to apply their power, and in general, a player can still apply his/her race's capacity and special power.

Adaptable (5) : at the end of your turn, you score one victory point per region of the kind of your choice. Nonetheless, you cannot choose this kind of region ever again in your next turns.

And their genius (5) : during your conquests, place the Magic Lamp token in one of your regions. It becomes impregnable and immune. Then toss the die before carrying on your attacks. If you get 1, you can either conquer the enemy adjacent regions at one less token than necessary, get a VP or increase the defense of the regions you own near the Magic Lamp until your next turn. If you get 2, you can perform two powers, and all three if you get 3.

Archeologist (5) : before entering the map, take four 1VP and two 3VP tokens from the tray - the archeologist treasures. Dispatch them all at random first, at one token per region and in NON-ADJACENT regions. Then proceed to your conquests. At the end of each of your turns, you can unearth one of them IF it is in one of your regions. If an opponent conquers a region with a treasure, it is destroyed, but if he/she was already occupying it when you placed the treasure, it stays and the enemy cannot unearth it (this region can be abandonned and reconquered though). The non-unearthed treasures are lost in decline.

Blacksmith (5) : each time a player takes one of your regions, toss the die. He/she has to deploy as many extra tokens in this regions as the result of the die. If after your die toss he/she doesn't have enough tokens, then it becomes a last conquest and can toss the die to hope reducing the cost of the attack.

Bushwacker (5) : if, while conquering, you occupy at least one region of a given kind, you can occupy all others with one less token than necessary. It works for all 5 kinds of regions.

Camouflage (5) : you get 3 Camouflage tokens. At the end of your turn, you can make a certain type of region immune : you can thus place a Camouflage token in up to three regions of the same kind.

Embalmer (5) : you can, once per turn and per race in decline, turn a lonely in-decline race token into a VP (including Lost Tribes). You cannot conquer the concerned region (which has to be adjacent to yours) for this turn nor use it as a region you occupy for further conquests, but the VP is yours when you redeploy.

Gambling (5) : each time a player tosses the die for a last conquest, toss it right after. If you get the same or above, you get one victory point from him/her.

Insidious (5) : once per turn and per player, you can exchange an active enemy race token for one victory point from the tray (provided that there is at least two of them and the region is adjacent to yours). You cannot conquer this region until the end of your turn. The victory point is yours afterwards.

Intimidating (5) : all regions you conquer where there is only one race token are immune to a loss of tokens ; however, those you conquer where there is two or more race tokens make the concerned lose one extra race token. Elves are still not concerned by both rules.

Knowledgeable (5) : at the end of your turn, before redeploying, get one VP per region with at least three tokens in it.

Medium (5) : at the end of your turn, you pick three regions, whether you're occupying them or not. If any player invades this region during his/her next turn, he/she has to pay you one VP.

Nimble (5 , for Small World Underground only) : when you occupy a region adjacent to a Chasm, you can jump above it and conquer another region adjacent to this same chasm with one less token than necessary. Still, this region has to be adjacent to the Chasm and thus the power doesn't allow Spiderines to conquer a region that is adjacent to any other Chasm.

Pestiferous (5) : a player that redeploys can leave only one token in the regions adjacent to your Pestiferous race. That makes Kobolds leave, and extra Barbarians off the board.

Pirate (5) : you can conquer Water regions like normal regions, and then attack all adjacent regions with one less token than necessary. Nevertheless, you have to abandon all Water regions you conquered while redeploying (this doesn't grant Pirate Gypsies bonus VPs).

Prehistoric (5) : for every Cave region you own or conquer, you can conquer an adjacent region with one single token, regardless of what's inside.

Radioactive (5) : you get an Uranium Mine token ; place it on one of your regions, which becomes impregnable, after your first turn. This region and those adjacent to it are emptied of all the active and declining races tokens that are not Radioactive after each of your next turns ; in-decline tokens are lost at one per region. The active race tokens, remaining Ghouls, and Draugar can therefore be redeployed, and an Ivory Tower only decreases by one. And this doesn't work on a region where there is a Dragon or similar, but it does on a water region. The Uranium mine disappears in decline.

Scavenger (5) : when in decline, each time you, or someone, abandon(s) a region that is adjacent to your Scavenger race, place one race token there, provided that there are some left. Priestesses can be placed like any other race, not minding their special Ivory Tower ability.

Ring (5) : you get a Ring token. Once per turn, take one of your race tokens, it is the Ring Carrier. Place both everywhere you want on the board. This region cannot be conquered by the other players, if any. If the concerned player does not leave after redeployment, your next turn begins with this region's occupants being slaughtered and the region is yours.

Scout (5) : you can invade all the regions occupied by one or no token with one less token than necessary.

Sensitive (5) : for each pair of race tokens you lose through the time you're active, your Sensitive race permanently need one less token for all of its next attacks.

Spectral (5) : your regions can be conquered as though they are empty, but you lose no token and they all stay there (a Diplomat race using this power to its benefit cannot use Diplomat against you). If attacked by a third player, the latter must provide sufficient tokens to get them all out of this region, but both your Spectral race and the other race lose a token. It is forbidden for a player to put a token that makes this region immune in there (Halflings then can't attack you on their first conquest). When you go into decline, all non-Spectral tokens have to be redeployed (in-decline enemy tokens are then lost).

Vulture (5) : when an enemy goes into decline, if he/she holds a special power that has to be discarded, you get that special power, until you go into decline yourself.
- for the Seafaring power, you may not conquer the water regions that weren't conquered until the Seafaring race in decline disappears ;
- for Fortified, you can get the remaining Fortresses that weren't used and that the player loses when in decline (you get the other ones when it disappears or they're lost).
- the Spirit power is not granted until the race is wiped out of the map ;
- same thing for Relentless power.
No further race tokens are granted, however. No pair or more of powers sets a problem of compatibility (I checked it !), but one or two may be a source of conflict - in that case, you choose each time the best for you. No more than two powers can be earned.

Will (5) : you can pick your following race for your next turn at any time. You don't have to pay anything if it's not the first and all the VPs that were on it are yours (the Cursed race is the exception, you can't choose it).

Wrecker (5) : when a player takes one of your regions, first let the race token you have to discard in it, and discard it after the end of the player's redeployment. In the meantime, this player cannot :
- put or leave any token that is not a race token in it (Heroes, Pots of Gold, Troll Lairs, Fortress, Loot... He/she can, however, leave tokens such as Dragon since they were used for conquest and makes the region immune to race and special powers)
- earn any direct VP or non-race token from this region or its kind (including Ice Witches' Winter markers, or Fireballs ; the region still counts for powers like Imperial, however)
Then dispose of your race token at last.

Charismatic (6 - number of other players) : when you conquer an active race for the first time, you keep a token that can be used for attack and defense (attack has to wait next turn), even Elves, Banshees, and Knockers in a mine ! If you are the Orcs, Skeletons, Grim Reapers, Gorgons, Demons... and even a similar special power thanks to the Vulture power, the token you get isn't counted (it is not lost). If it belongs to a race which special power is a bonus VP or defense kind, you can apply it in the region where you leave this token, but it can never be left alone. They all disappear in decline.

Powers:
Adaptive(5):When an opponent goes into decline, you may replace this power with theirs. Only works once, and you do not gain or lose any race tokens from doing so.

Blight(5):Every occupied region gains 1 blight token. While the blight token remains, only you can gain VP from these regions. The tokens remain for one round after you abandon or are conquered in these regions.

Blitzing(5):1/opponent/turn, you may cause a single stack of race tokens to move to an adjacent unoccupied region. This does not work against immune regions, and relics stay with their armies.

Burrowing(5):You may move through an unoccupied mountain region, conquering other adjacent regions.

Chitin Plated(5):Whenever an opponent uses a reinforcement die to attack your region, you may also roll the same die and add it to your total defense for that conquest only.

Craven(5):1/opponent/turn, when an opponent announces they will conquer your region, you may abandon that region immediately and have those forces redeploy in adjacent regions you occupy. If no such region exists, the forces go into your hand until the end of that opponent's turn, where you may reinforce any region. Also, anytime one of your regions is conquered, you may immediately redeploy the extra troops into your other adjacent regions, every time.

Fierce(2):Whenever an opponent conquers your region they lose 1 race token from the attacking force, as you do from defending.

Flanking(4):Attack an adjacent region for -1 race token for every region adjacent to it that you occupy beyond one.

Gelatinous(5):Every Mudpool or River region you own is considered to have one more race token for defensive purposes.

Hexed(1):Cannot be passed up during race selection. Once chosen, all other shown Power/Race combos are discarded and are replaced. Once this race goes into decline, all adjacent regions act as if conquered, where one token is discarded and the rest go to the owners hand. These regions are not conquered by the Rotting armies, but remain empty to be conquered on future turns.

Hoarder(5):At the end of your turn, gain a number of VP equal to the Righteous Relics you own.

Industrious(5):When you pick the race with this power, you immediately get VP for each active race including this one. You gain 1 VP every time another race becomes active.

Mason(3):Place 1 Buttress token on every region conquered. These regions gain +1 defense for the rest of the game, and remain in play when conquered. (6 Buttress tokens)

Mind Flaying(5):Place the Great Brain token in the first region you conquer. Gain a race token whenever you conquer another region connected to this one. If the region of the Great Brain is conquered, you must place it in another of your regions on your next turn.

Mutating(5):At the beginning of your turn, choose a power at random from the powers not in use. This becomes your power until the beginning of your next turn, where it is discarded.

Phalanx(3):Every region you occupy gains +1 defense for every other of your connected and conquered regions.

Prospecting(5):For every mountain region conquered, place 1 gold mine token on the region for the rest of the game. Whoever owns these regions gain one bonus VP per gold mine at the end of the turn.(5 gold mines)

Temporal Shift(5):When you go into decline, move the Game Turn marker one spot back on the Game turn track.

Races:
Artisans(5/11):Once per turn, you may place an Artisan token in an adjacent region occupied by opposing active race. The two races now co-inhabit this region. They both score VP for the region, and act as if they alone occupy it. Artisans retreat from co-inhabited regions (without loss to the tray) to their players' hand when: the region is conquered, they're evicted, or if either race enters decline. Players who co-inhabit any regions with Artisans can freely evict them at the start of their turn (just before their 'Ready your Troops' phase). Evicted Artisans are redistributed immediately for defence, and any other tokens the Artisans brought to the region are removed from the board.

Batfolk(7/12):Batfolk may conquer and occupy chasms, even when in decline. A Bat folk may not conquer a chasm with a volcano in it, but if an opponent chooses the Flames, he/she may choose to kick the bat folk out. The owner of those batfolk can redeploy them at the end of the turn.

Beholders(5/10):No opponent may use the reinforcement die to take one of your regions.

Black Pudding(5/10):1/turn, when you attack a region with any +1 defense structure, you remove that structure permanently.

Clerics(6/11):May conquer regions occupied by undead races as if they were 2 less.

Copycats(5/10):Whenever you conquer a region with an opponent's active race tokens you do not return one of their tokens to the tray, instead you return it to the opponent's hand, and may use that opponent's racial ability until the end of that round. If you conquer multiple opponents, you choose what racial ability to use.

Deep Gnomes(5/10):1/game, you may destroy one relic permanently and receive 5 VP from the Victory Stash.

Direwolves(6/11):On your last conquest, you may choose to conquer two adjacent regions using the same stack of race tokens. You must have enough tokens to beat both regions individually, but not necessarily altogether. When you are finished conquering, at least one token must be in either region. Reinforcements work as normal.

Druids(6/11):When you move to conquer a region, you may use one less race token to do so per region of superior effectiveness your druids occupy. Hill/Mystic Crystal regions are weak to River regions, which are weak to Mountain Regions, which are weak to Farmland/Mining regions, which are weak to Mudpool/Marsh regions, which are weak to Forest/Mushroom Forest regions, which are weak to Hill/Mystic Crystal regions. Each region is effective against one type, and weak against one other type.

Friars(5/10):You may cross any region(s) occupied by an in decline race as you would bodies of water, leaving one token in each region to be picked up again for redeployment.

Gargoyles(5/10):Each night (even numbered round), you may conquer at one less. Each day (odd numbered), you cannot conquer any regions, but gain +2 defense per region you occupy.

Giant Ants(5/10):When you redeploy troops, take all but one race token from each of your regions. 1/opponent/turn, when an opponent declares to attack one of your regions, you may decide how many troops are deployed to defend it from those in your hand.

Guerilla(6/11):1/turn you may conquer a region without occupying the region. You must have enough race tokens to conquer it, and you may then use those tokens to conquer other regions.

Illithid(5/10):Whenever you conquer a region with Lost Tribes, Monsters or Races In-Decline, you may pay 1 VP to 'enslave' 1 of their defeated race tokens and use it to conquer or defend as if it were your own until you go into decline. These enslaved tokens must be accompanied by at least 1 Illithid race token to be used.

Molemen(6/11):You may travel across an unoccupied mountain region adjacent to a region you conquered using no tokens to do so, conquering regions on the opposite side.

Naga(7/12):At the beginning of your turn, place 1 Victory Coin in every region you occupy. If an enemy conquers any of these regions, that enemy receives the coins on the region. If you hold any of these regions when you go into decline, immediately take the Victory Coins from these regions and add it to your personal stash. If you abandon a region with Victory Coins in it, the coins go back to the bank.

Ooze(8/13):Whenever you conquer a region occupied by an active race, their stack of race tokens in that region do not die and are held captive. However they also cannot be picked up or used to conquer and do not gain VP from that region until it is taken back. Once an ooze is killed or goes into decline, the captive race tokens can be immediately picked up by those they belong to. Captive race tokens can go into decline, but must abandon regions in which they are captive.

Sirens(6/11):When Sirens go into decline, all other active races in play must also immediately go into decline on their player's next turn. If a player does not currently have an active race, he is unaffected.

Titans(7/12):After gaining control of a Mountain region, the titans may pick up the mountain token and use it as an additional race token for conquering an adjacent region. The mountain token continues to provide defense, and only one mountain token can be placed on a region. When the Titans go into decline, the mountain tokens stay where they are.

Vanara(7/12):You may travel across an unoccupied forest region adjacent to a region you conquered using no tokens to do so, conquering regions on the opposite side.

Venus(9/14):Once you go into decline, choose half of the regions you occupy rounded down. Remove the rest from the board. The remaining race tokens give you VP per turn as any in-decline race, but cannot be conquered or removed from the board by any means. Any active race may conquer the regions as if they were empty, occupy them alongside the Venus, and receive VP as if they alone occupied it. When your next race goes into decline, the Venus disappear as normal.

Viziers(6/11):1/turn/opponent when your opponent declares to attack a region your viziers occupy, you may pay them an amount of VP equal to the race tokens in your region to not be able to conquer it.

Special Power:Nuclear (3 tokens)-
When going into decline, remove tokens from half (rounding down) of your occupied territories. These newly abandoned regions are nuclear wastelands and may not be entered or conquered by any players for the rest of the game.

Creating a couple "Biohazard" pieces for these spaces would be helpful.

I really like some previous posts about Rock Eaters, Gnomes, and Shadows. Had those ideas on my own and found others who had the same.

Hey guys. I would like some feedback on some races/powers I want to make. Specifically, I want more knowledgeable opinions weighing in on how big the army size on each should be (for balance). Here's what I've got:

Power: Zen Armies: 2 or 3
When your Zen race goes into decline, their armies are immune to attack, but the regions they occupy are not immune to conquest! These areas can be conquered (as if they are empty) by another race, but the immortal Zen race will peacefully "share" the region, allowing up to two players to collect points on the same space.

This special power is similar to the White Ladies of the Grand Dames expansion, but slightly less powerful because they cannot be used to block opponents. It's also like the "Venus" race already thought up, without the high army size and the stuff about removing half the regions. They are great for collecting points, but they leave a lot of easy-to grab territories for opponents. I'm thinking of giving this an army size of 3, since that's one more than the White Ladies, but a 2 on a special power is more powerful than a 2 on a race banner. So maybe this should just be a 2?

Power: Merciless Armies: 3 or 4? Maybe less.
When your Merciless race conquers a region owned by another player, that player loses two tokens to the tray instead of one (Elves lose one)!
Alternatively, this power could also read:
When your Merciless race conquers a region owned by another player, that player loses ALL tokens from that region to the tray instead of one (Elves can retain one army, as long as that army was not alone on the region)!

This power is completely unique to Small World, because, unlike every other power, it does not help with defense, help the player gain more territories, or provide extra points. It is purely used to damage opponents. Therefore, I don't know how to balance this power! Should it be nerfed to an army size of 3? 4? keep in mind that, to use the power effectively, the player will have to use a lot of armies, thus sacrificing potential points, but when the power IS used, it cripples an opponent. And additional defenses are still a good counter to this. Should it have an army size of 5?

Race: Ninjas Armies: 2?
I know Ninjas have been suggested, but mine are different. Also, this is similar to the Giant Ants, but less restrictive.After the conquering phase of your Ninjas' turn, take all extra ninja tiles off the board, leaving one on each territory. Place the extra tiles in front of you. These armies can be used to rush to the defense of any region you owned that is threatened by another player, giving the ninjas big defense on every territory!

This is a very powerful race, so I know it has to have a very low army size. However, this power gets less and less powerful the more spread out the Ninjas get. Say I give this an army size of 2, which means the max number of ninjas is 7. The more they spread out, the less defense they have. I'm still thinking they should get an army size of 2. My question, then, is: Is this TOO powerful? I don't want to give an army size of 1.

Zen: Sounds relatively useful if you can go out on a large number of territories, but not that useful if you get attacked before you can decline. 4 sounds right to me.

Merciless: Really powerful since it allows you to more effectively reduce your opponents numbers. I'd say 3 is good. Also the first version is way more balanced than the second version.

Ninjas: The largest drawback of dwarves and white ladies is their tiny race counts. Even though this is indeed a powerful ability, it doesn't mean much if you are only scoring 4 or 5 points a turn. I think a low race count is too much of a drawback, but giving them more troops makes the ability too good. Not sure what to do with this.

After some research/playtesting, I think I'm giving the Zen power 3 armies, the Merciless power 4 armies, and the Ninjas 5 armies. The Ninja's power is not nearly as impressive as I thought it would be. It diminishes quickly.

There is a suggested race above called Ghosts that has the same power as my Zen special power, except it applies even when not in decline, and it is WAY overpowered with armies (it has 6 or 7). Isn't a race that is permanently immune to attack already pretty powerful without a higher-than-average army size?

After some research/playtesting, I think I'm giving the Zen power 3 armies, the Merciless power 4 armies, and the Ninjas 5 armies. The Ninja's power is not nearly as impressive as I thought it would be. It diminishes quickly.

There is a suggested race above called Ghosts that has the same power as my Zen special power, except it applies even when not in decline, and it is WAY overpowered with armies (it has 6 or 7). Isn't a race that is permanently immune to attack already pretty powerful without a higher-than-average army size?

You mean, my 6 Ghosts, overpowered ?

I don't think so. This ability can be ignored and they can be conquered as any other race. Their ability enables them AND another race to share a territory, which enables both to earn victory points - and, unless I missed something, this is the main goal in Small World ^^

Plus, it gives a great additionnal defense, so people will generaly invade your regions as they were empty, and that's it, unless there is someone daredevil enough to go and try. In fact, it gives more room to everybody, and the advantage is great for everybody, slightly more for the Ghosts (that's why I chose 6) because all of your regions, or almost, will be well protected, and so will a few of the others, but just two or three, not all of them.

I don't think so. This ability can be ignored and they can be conquered as any other race. Their ability enables them AND another race to share a territory, which enables both to earn victory points - and, unless I missed something, this is the main goal in Small World ^^

Plus, it gives a great additionnal defense, so people will generaly invade your regions as they were empty, and that's it, unless there is someone daredevil enough to go and try. In fact, it gives more room to everybody, and the advantage is great for everybody, slightly more for the Ghosts (that's why I chose 6) because all of your regions, or almost, will be well protected, and so will a few of the others, but just two or three, not all of them.

Well, actually, I haven't tried them yet. You can

I was referring to your Ghosts. Consider this: they can take whatever territories they want as usual. But they can NEVER be conquered. That means the player with the ghosts can easily take 6-10 territories and go into decline without opposition and have 6-10 points every turn GUARANTEED. Compare the ghosts' power to the White LAdies (from Grand Dames). Their power is similar, except they cannot share their territories (but both WL and Ghosts get the points, nonetheless), but the White Ladies power ONLY comes into effect on decline, so it's actually less powerful than your ghosts as far as point-earning potential. And yet, the developers balanced them at 2 armies, the lowest in the official game, which suggests that their race is the most powerful in the game. And as far as point-earning potential, your Ghosts are even MORE powerful because their power is in effect before they go into decline. Yet they're balanced at 6.

I love the idea of the ghosts, but Ithink they should be balanced with less armies.

I don't think so. This ability can be ignored and they can be conquered as any other race. Their ability enables them AND another race to share a territory, which enables both to earn victory points - and, unless I missed something, this is the main goal in Small World ^^

Plus, it gives a great additionnal defense, so people will generaly invade your regions as they were empty, and that's it, unless there is someone daredevil enough to go and try. In fact, it gives more room to everybody, and the advantage is great for everybody, slightly more for the Ghosts (that's why I chose 6) because all of your regions, or almost, will be well protected, and so will a few of the others, but just two or three, not all of them.

Well, actually, I haven't tried them yet. You can

I was referring to your Ghosts. Consider this: they can take whatever territories they want as usual. But they can NEVER be conquered. That means the player with the ghosts can easily take 6-10 territories and go into decline without opposition and have 6-10 points every turn GUARANTEED. Compare the ghosts' power to the White LAdies (from Grand Dames). Their power is similar, except they cannot share their territories (but both WL and Ghosts get the points, nonetheless), but the White Ladies power ONLY comes into effect on decline, so it's actually less powerful than your ghosts as far as point-earning potential. And yet, the developers balanced them at 2 armies, the lowest in the official game, which suggests that their race is the most powerful in the game. And as far as point-earning potential, your Ghosts are even MORE powerful because their power is in effect before they go into decline. Yet they're balanced at 6.

I love the idea of the ghosts, but Ithink they should be balanced with less armies.

You still didn't get my point.

I'll repeat it again, my Ghosts, not that I am fully satisfied of them, can perfectly be conquered normally. Their ability is OPTIONAL. If you want to conquer them, you can do it by ignoring it. The only reason they might get so much territories is that the enemy hasn't got a power which grants bonuses by slaying people but by occupying regions (Merchants, Imperials...) and that have few tokens ; that would offer them some bonus defense (like the Dwarves or the White Ladies). Or simply races that haven't got many tokens left to expand one more time.

I'll repeat it again, my Ghosts, not that I am fully satisfied of them, can perfectly be conquered normally. Their ability is OPTIONAL. If you want to conquer them, you can do it by ignoring it. The only reason they might get so much territories is that the enemy hasn't got a power which grants bonuses by slaying people but by occupying regions (Merchants, Imperials...) and that have few tokens ; that would offer them some bonus defense (like the Dwarves or the White Ladies). Or simply races that haven't got many tokens left to expand one more time.

Okay, I guess if you give that much of an option to your opponents, that lessens the power they have. I guess it's more different than I thought from my Zen special power. I playtested it only once, at three armies, and it seemed pretty balanced, but I need to playtest it a lot more, with different races.

Sorry if this is duplicative, but I've done my best to try to take in the several pages of posts. While I saw at least one that was similar, it was still fundamentally different.

Vile - For each region a Vile race conquers, place a "vile" token on it. These token negate any terrain/resource specific VP bonuses any other race (including the Vile player's on active race) would accrue from them. In other words, Forest, Swamp and Hill powers as well as Human's Farm, Dwarves' Mine and Wizards' Magic region bonuses. Fortresses are not affected. However, the Vile race may still collect coins from their own racial bonus (Humans, Dwarves and Wizards) even on their Vile lands.

Similar rules would apply underground, as long as it is a VP-related bonus. It wouldn't affect things like Mounted or Giants or Orcs, which aren't power's or racial abilities that target specific region types or resources to get VP.

The tokens stay on the region, even if it is abandoned or if another race conquers it. They stay on the board even when the Vile race is in decline. The vile tokens only leave the board when the race is no longer active or declined. Vile Ghouls continue to drop Vile tokens if they conquer new regions while in decline.

This could also work as a race (though a good "vile" race that hasn't already been used doesn't leap to mind). If it were a race, there's the possibility that that race (while active) could still get the VP region bonuses if they have that ability. That might be overpowered, though.

The main thing I think is interesting about this is that it's about resource-denial. One of the normal patterns of play is if you try to kick a resource-using race off their choice plot, they'll try to come back and kick you off it. So you have to heavily defend it. Or if you're already occupying a couple of forests and someone starts playing as, say Forest Elves, they're motivated to come and kick you off. But if you've vile-d it up, they aren't nearly as interested. Especially interesting in a game with more players where you'd encourage resource-seekers to go pick on someone else.

That's also why I think maybe it works best as an ability. It gives you quite a big bonus in removing potential VPs from your opponents. Of course, like some of the best abilities it can come back and bite you if you wind up with your active race needing the areas that your declined vile race just polluted before getting reconquered!

And there would be some interesting combinations, like Vile Orcs, who are encouraged to go tearing through the map and who will now leave these smelly reminders of their passage. Dwarves would particularly hate vile races (but then the Dwarves have it pretty rough anyway).

An interesting twist might be to let Dragon attacks cleans the Vile token off a region.

What do you folks think about number of race tokens that should be on the Vile power? I think it should probably be 4 or 5.

Thanks for the reply. I wound up reposting it on BGG due to low traffic here. I went back and forth with another poster and it significantly mutated into something quite different. More of a "taxation" power instead of a "resource destroying" one.

I may try to revisit the original one, though, as I think it could be fun. Maybe take the abandoning away and have a race/power that can pollute an adjacent region without conquering it, even if another player's tokens are on it. That region would then score no VP (through occupation or from resources) as long as that stench marker was still on it. Maybe make the markers quite limited and/or non-removable even by the player that uses them.

-Harpies: During your redeployment phase, place a Nest token in a region you control. The Nest is removed if conquered. If, at the beginning of your next turn, you still control this Nest, remove the nest token and take 3 harpy tokens into hand from the tray. 5/17.

Harpies (4/18): During your redeployment phase, place 1 Nest token in a region you control (3 max). The Nest is removed if conquered. At the beginning of your turn, add 1 harpy token for each nest in play. The nest remains as a defensive structure in decline.

Now I haven't paid too much attention to the races here, so these may be copies.
Races:
Shadows (5/10): Whenever someone tries to conquer a region of yours, roll the reinforcement die. Your opponent must use that many more tokens to conquer that region this turn. This still works in decline.
I see it as the shadows using nearby darkness to aid in defense. I also see it as compared to trolls as pygmies are to elves and berserk is to commando.
Wraiths(4/9 or 3/8): Whenever someone tries to attack one of your active wraith regions, that person rolls the die. On a blank, he cannot touch that region.
The idea is that they are incorporeal, and not always touchable.
Elementals(3/8): Place a typhoon/hurricane/etc. token on every region you own to gain +1 defense in those regions. You need one less token to conquer any region.
The idea is that the land itself aids them, with them being the land. The picture could be water, earth, or air; underground already has fire.
Powers:
Underground trader(4): You get one extra coin from cavern regions.
Pretty self explanatory, but I could use a better name.
Ranger(5): You need one less token to conquer forests and swamps.
Basically the opposite of mounted. Rangers are good with difficult terrain, right?
Now if I'm right, grand dames has a blank power, cursed has a blank race, be not afraid has both, so I can make two more of each when I get those. (Ranger and elementals are already put on the current blanks.) I'm not sure if I should include both wraiths and shadows. I could use more ideas or suggestions of what to include from the royal bonus. Races with a token count of 13 or more max will be ignored, I want to substitute unusable races from underground for them. (Don't have it yet, but want it. I'm thinking spiderines, lizardmen, flames, and anything terrain based. Mummies will be shoved into the up elevator.) Yes, this was a very long post.

The ranger combos I remember are ranger trolls (twice!) and ranger orcs. The problem with a cavern=money power is that most names sound too much like underworld. Cavernous does make sense though. Speaking of making sense, how balanced do you think my races/powers are?

Well obviously ranger seems balanced.
Wraiths sound like a variation on Sphinxes that is slightly less powered.
Elementals like the idea of the race, maybe move away from -1 because we have ogres and commando. Something whereby they could use the hurricane to clear away all enemy from a region. They could have hurricane, tornado and typhoon so a max of 3 per turn without the opponent losing troops. But otherwise I think these are pretty good ideas.

Well, the elementals were just a simple idea of mine, low tokens and very powerful. I gave the wraiths less tokens because they were obviously more powerful than shadows, but that was before I gave the shadows power in decline. My dad actually thought that they should be like diplomat, but you can attack the player. If only I had a ton of extra tokens I could make the fauns race from royal bonus...

I just remembered that the elemental defensive power works in decline. Here's how I originally thought of them: "Basically commando trolls with another power." I'm pretty sure that they are more powerful than kobolds.

Idea for an underground race:
Batfolk (Can't really do batmen.): 5/10, 6/11, or 7/12.
Ability: A)You may cross chasms as if they were river regions.
B) You may Cross non-immune regions as if they were river regions, leaving everything in them (Even monsters) unharmed.
C) All of the above.
They can fly. Need I say more? What I'm wondering is which ability to use, and what number to stick on it. If B), then it can be thrown above ground as well. And yes, I know that this has been used before, but the power is different.

Has anyone else thought that the vampire power was underpowered? Think about it. Unless you have, say, sorcerers, skeletons, fauns or mudmen, you need to sustain a loss just to use it! Now does anyone have a fix, or maybe an entirely new power to change it? (To be honest, I don't have underground. I might be a minority here. Though I think the power is much worse than the real sorcerers. Anyone with me?)

Well obviously ranger seems balanced.
Wraiths sound like a variation on Sphinxes that is slightly less powered.
Elementals like the idea of the race, maybe move away from -1 because we have ogres and commando. Something whereby they could use the hurricane to clear away all enemy from a region. They could have hurricane, tornado and typhoon so a max of 3 per turn without the opponent losing troops. But otherwise I think these are pretty good ideas.

Hmmm... Idea! Do you think that fireball is a little overpowered? Because I have a more... elemental ability. Fireball AS A RACE!

Once again, these probably have been done before.
Batfolk:(5/10 or 6/11)
You may conquer and occupy chasms as if they are empty regions.
Yes, I know this has been done before, but with the somewhat overpowered amount of 7/12. It's at least as good as seafaring in the ability, so it deserves the race equivalent or less.
Tengu (crow people): (2/7)
Every region (including tengu regions!) is worth a number of extra VP equal to the number of tengu regions bordering it.
If I'm correct, this is DannyMack's race, but spelled tenku instead. I love the race, but from what I've read about the tengu (vain, devious, loves to profit at others expense) it isn't too thematic. Other than that nitpicking, awesome race.
Scarecrows: (?/?)
I have no clue, but it's probably going to be a farm related power. I want the different terrains to be equal, and I'm letting only hills slide with one less reference. My ideas are either a near-copy of the giants, or an exact copy of the will-o-wisps. I would have used your scarecrows, DannyMack, but I don't have a BGG account or game cardboard, and am looking for something I can use with an underground race other than mummies. (Those get pushed upstairs.)
And guess what? I'm thinking of stuff I would do with underground when I only have the base game!

Well if you really want to do batfolk, and since conquering chasm is stronger than seafaring (there are more than 3 chasms, and they are closer together so it is easier to conquer most of them), I would suggest something inspired from my mermaids

I might like that if relics weren't there. Maybe I should try using something else, like the shadows or wraiths, instead of batmen. As for the scarecrows, I just remembered the shrubmen! Though they are overpowered, (6/11, forests you own are invincible EVEN IN DECLINE!) maybe I could lower the amount to 5/10 or remove the decline part. Or just have some fun and use as is!
Scarecrows: (5/10 or 6/11)
Farmland regions you own are immune to abilities and conquests, even in decline.

Once again, these probably have been done before.
Batfolk:(5/10 or 6/11)
You may conquer and occupy chasms as if they are empty regions.
Yes, I know this has been done before, but with the somewhat overpowered amount of 7/12. It's at least as good as seafaring in the ability, so it deserves the race equivalent or less.
Tengu (crow people): (2/7)
Every region (including tengu regions!) is worth a number of extra VP equal to the number of tengu regions bordering it.
If I'm correct, this is DannyMack's race, but spelled tenku instead. I love the race, but from what I've read about the tengu (vain, devious, loves to profit at others expense) it isn't too thematic. Other than that nitpicking, awesome race.
Scarecrows: (?/?)
I have no clue, but it's probably going to be a farm related power. I want the different terrains to be equal, and I'm letting only hills slide with one less reference. My ideas are either a near-copy of the giants, or an exact copy of the will-o-wisps. I would have used your scarecrows, DannyMack, but I don't have a BGG account or game cardboard, and am looking for something I can use with an underground race other than mummies. (Those get pushed upstairs.)
And guess what? I'm thinking of stuff I would do with underground when I only have the base game!

Whoops! I meant that they were spelled Kenku for DannyMack's race. They might just be used very soon.

For those who are interested, here are DannyMack's other races.
Demons: (3/8)
You can conquer all regions at 1 less demon token than usual. Whenever you conquer a region, take the token you would normally discard (take 1 elf token) and place it underneath the demon token in the region you conquered. This token adds 1 defense to the region. If any possessed tokens are in a demon region when conquered, the demons suffer no casualties and the possessed token goes back to the player who owns the race if active, and the token is discarded if the race is in decline. Only one demon token at a time can occupy a region with possessed tokens. When the demons decline, all possessed tokens return to their owners if the race is active and are discarded if the race is in decline.
Yes, this is a touch confusing. Just try to make it work.
Scarecrows: (9/14)
Roll the reinforcement die for each region you have when you ready your troops. If you roll pips, you may not collect troops from those regions. Also, you lose two scarecrows rather than one when a region of yours is conquered using the reinforcement die.
They can't get down from their poles. The reinforcement die represents FIRE when used for attack. Check Boardgamegeek for pictures of both these and the Kenku.

Whoops, mistake with the demons! Apparently they possess EVERY race token in the region. They seem very... not nice. And I mean that like they exist to make the others lives miserable, not that they aren't a good race. When I see them, I give an evil chuckle... hehehehehehe...

TITANS: (2/7)
Place an (insert name of token here) token on every region you own for 1 extra defense, even in decline. You may conquer all regions as if empty. Active races (including tomb races and in-decline ghouls) lose no tokens, as if they were immortal.
A "player slayer," as I call them, like the flames (and to a lesser extent, were- and mercenary). They crush your territory, and while leaving you with all your guys, make the lands harder to take back. Variations could be an extra token, changing offense and disadvantage to -2 to conquer everything, or make every guy worth double as a totally different power, though that upsets the "2 + pieces of cardboard" rule. Not really sure. Feedback on which is best is appreciated!

Djinn/genies:(4/12?)
You may place ? magic lamps in your regions at the end of your turn. They are worth 1 victory coin if left untouched. However, if an opponent conquers a region with one, they get a wish! You may choose between A) Victory coins (1, 2, 3, reinforcement die roll, I dunno) or B) A token from the tray. Beware, though: the genies get both the wish you made and a race token to replace the one they lost!(A variant is just giving them built-in immortality instead of the bonus token.)
Ideas on the VC number for the VC wish and how many lamps can be placed at once are welcome, as is feedback.

Underground or normal...
Welding special power 4/5
Place 1 forge in each territory with mine symbol/ terrain type
This offers 1 extra defense and allows the race to attack adjacent regions at 1 less, ability doesnt stack up

Underground or normal...
Welding special power 4/5
Place 1 forge in each territory with mine symbol/ terrain type
This offers 1 extra defense and allows the race to attack adjacent regions at 1 less, ability doesnt stack up

Now for a special power:
COLOSSUS:(?)
Gain two colossus token stacks. They are (2 or 3?) tokens tall. They may not be mixed or separated. (As in, the two stacks must remain two separate stacks of the same size.) They may be used as an equivalent number of race tokens to the number of tokens (attack and defense) in the colossus stack. When a region with a colossus is conquered, a token from the colossus is removes instead of a race token loss. A destroyed colossus is gone permanently. A region with a colossus in it is worth 1 extra victory coin at turns end.
These colossus's are basically giant fortress-golems, hence the extra coin. They work a little like the behemoths from royal bonus (which I do not have). Feedback and suggestions are, as usual, appreciated.

You may enter anywhere in the map. As long as you don't attack any active race all the adjacent races must pay you Gold Pieces according to a die roll.
If they attack you, roll the die at the end of active players turn. Gain that number of tokens from the tray.

And the power could be

Offspring (4)

At the end of your turn roll a die. gain the value in Gold Pieces or race tokens

Cheers
[Updated on: Tue, 10 December 2013 16:35]

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Dan42hitchikers
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Nice, think the bards sound quite cool but might work better if used as for each region adjacent role, but that's just my opinion. Not so sure about offspring. Not many races have enough spare tokens.
Next time remember to post on the fan suggestions races page Very Happy
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player1456997
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